


The riddle of the sphynx

by Bohemianlilli



Category: Supernatural
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe, Cat Castiel, Chance Meetings, First Kiss, Fluff, Lots of tears, M/M, Oblivious Dean Winchester, Shapeshifter Castiel, Supportive Dean, just a lot of fluff, lots of hugs, so cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:21:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22670914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bohemianlilli/pseuds/Bohemianlilli
Summary: One day, Dean saves a stray cat from the streets, bring him home, and together the build the little family they never had the luck to have.Only little detail: Cas, said cat, hides a big secret, and revealing it to Dean would mean the end of the beautiful, idyllic life he has with him, and going back to living in the streets. Or would it?
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 101





	The riddle of the sphynx

Dean and Cas had lived together for one year now. And it had been a wonderful year.

Dean would come home after a long day at work, and he would find his cat, stretching after his countless hours of sleep, greeting him with a bump against his nose.

They would eat together, and then watch something on the tv, Cas curled over Dean’s chest, purring like a kitten. 

Their meeting had been something completely unexpected, but Dean now couldn’t even remember what was like life before adopting Cas.

It was a late afternoon, and Dean was heading home after a walk in the local park when, from a neglected alley, he heard a cat desperately calling for help. He immediately started looking for it, since nobody else in the street seemed interested by the meowing, and after some seconds of frantic searching, he found the cat slumped under a trash can, all bloody and almost unconscious.

The following moments were a rush to get to the first vet doctor he could find, almost tearing down the door of the only one he could find still open this late in the evening, crushing against them.

After a brief visit, the vet reassured him; the cat was dehydrated, and he had lost a lot of blood consequently a deep cut below his rear leg, but with some intensive cures, he would be out of danger.

Dean hadn’t even stopped to think that this wasn’t his cat, he was allergic to cats no less, he agreed immediately to sustain every cure himself, the only thing that mattered was saving the cat’s life.

He would never forget the immense amount of gratitude directed at him that transpired from the little animal’s eyes the first time he woke up and blinked at him.

He was gone from that moment.

When the doctor announced it was finally time for the little patient to go home, Dean carefully cradled him in his arms and brought him home.

He put some flyers around just to make sure he wasn’t stealing someone else’s cat, but when no one contacted him, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had in fact grown quite fond of him during this little time, and he would have been distraught to give him away to his real owners.

He also soon discovered he didn’t have to worry about his allergy. The cat was a in fact a black and white Sphynx, completely hairless, with enormous deep blue eyes that never failed to show all his curiosity and vitality.

“So, cat. We need to find you a name. I can’t keep on calling you cat if we’ll be living together from now on.

What do you suggest?”

The cat eyed him expectantly.

“Nugget? Black? Robert?”

If a facial expression could say “are you fucking kidding me?”, the one the cat was giving Dean now was definitely the perfect example.

“Alright, alright, tiger, don’t get pissed too easily.

Wait a second. I’ve just read this book, the main character is an angel called Castiel, what do you say of this one?”

The feline tilted his head on one side, as if concentrated thinking, and then jumped on his lap purring, rubbing his nose against Dean’s stomach.

“Yeah baby” Dean laughed at the cat’s sudden burst of affection “I knew you’d like it.

Castiel it is then. Now you’re officially my flatmate.”

It was hard to admit, but Dean longed for company.

After Sam had left the apartment to attend college, the house felt empty.

Dean didn’t mind very much about relationships. The long list of disastrous relationships he had had during all his life had a certain weight in Dean’s mind, who one day realized it wasn’t that bad being single. He would have some fun sometimes, but nothing more. He had a beautiful life even without a partner.

So, he kept on living alone in his big house.

What he really missed though, were human interactions.

Talking with someone after work. The joy of preparing a special meal to someone who would appreciate it. The comforting sensation of knowing there is someone waiting for you at home.

To him, Cas brought all this.

Every night, Cas sat on the table while Dean spoke about his day, making them dinner, and then, when finally heading to bed, he would snuggle beside him, a soft and warm ball of love he would pet until falling asleep. 

“Stay still, Dean. I’m trying to sleep” A sleepy voice said from beside him, while a hand softly poked him on his forearm.

- _Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do_ \- Dean thought. - _I was sleeping before someone - EHI_ –

“WHAT THE FUCK?” He screamed, jumping from the bed.

He blindly reached for the light, abruptly turning it on.

When his eyes adapted to the light, he saw something he would never have expected.

In his bed, right beside where he was mere seconds ago, was a man, a naked man, clutching at the sheets, eyes wide with dread.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” Dean’s heart was beating like a hammer in his chest.

“WHAT KIND OF JOKE IS THIS NOW? A STRANGER BREAKS INTO MY HOUSE AND THEN HE TRIES TO MOLEST ME WITHOUT ME NOTICING?”

“Dean please, you need to calm down. I can explain.”

“OH CAN YOU NOW? GET OUT OF MY BED YOU FREAK, HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?”

“Dean, I’ll try to explain, but you need to calm down. Please, you don’t need to worry.” The man got up from the bed, one hand still clutching the sheets, the other raised in the air as if trying to approach a growling dog.

Something was wrong with this man.

His eyes, they were haunting Dean. They were a familiar shade of blue he couldn’t quite place.

“Dean, look at me! Look at me.

I know your name because I know you very well.

I’m not a thief, you have to trust me.

This may sound absurd, I know it, but believe me, please.

I’m Cas.”

Rage boiled now down Dean’s veins

“Cas? My cat Cas? I’m sorry buddy, but if you were looking for a plausible excuse, you could have tried told me you were an ex.

Rather, what have you done to him? He always sleeps with me. If you’ve hurt him I swear to god I’m going to kill you.”

“I AM CAS. I AM CASTIEL, YOUR CAT! LOOK AT ME! DON’T YOU RECOGNISE MY EYES?”

No no no, this couldn’t be real. He should call the police, what was he waiting for?

But on the other hand.. those eyes.. they were the first thing he noticed.

Goddamnit he couldn’t be seriously considering this. This is real life, not a fancy movie. There are no such things as shapeshifting cats.

“You’re confused, I know it. But I can explain. Well, I had hoped this would have happened in another situation, but we’ll have to roll with it now I guess.

I’ll do it the fast way.

Keep your eyes fixed on me, and don’t freak out. You understand?”

Without waiting for an answer, the man dropped the sheet and closed his eyes.

His body started to change. His back arched, his whole body shrinked, and then, he disappeared.

Dean stood there, completely dumbstruck, mouth wide open, until, a couple of seconds later, his very own cat, Cas, jumped on the bed with a meow.

“SON OF A BITCH”

The cat watched him doubtfully, almost scared to get closer to Dean, waiting for a reaction.

“Jesus, what was in that steak I ate at dinner? This is the weirdest dream I ever had in my whole life.”

Cas approached him gradually, and, when he was sure Dean wouldn’t hit him or something, pushed his head in Dean’s palm.

“Oh, Cas, what the hell is going on here?”

Scratching under Cas’s neck, he dropped on the bed and cradled his head in his hands, the cat still respectfully sitting beside him.

There was a shift in the air, and when Dean looked up, again the blue eyed man was sitting beside him.

“Do you believe me now?” He had a deep, throaty voice; fear and hopefulness clear on his face.

“Am I really seeing all this, or it is an hallucination?”

“I’m afraid it’s all real.” Cas’s voice seemed as concerned as Dean’s

“I’m sorry you had to find out like this. I’m always really careful, and you always sleep like a hibernating bear, I never thought you would wake up. “

“So you mean you’ve been doing this for longer than one night? What are you? Didn’t you think I would have liked to know I had a man living with me, and not a cat?”

“I.. I am a shapeshifter, Dean. I was born human but one day I got bitten and I transformed into this animal form.

I lied to you, and I regret it heavily, but I was scared.

I haven’t had a home in years, and you gave me the world, Dean. You have always been so kind to me, and I thought I could pretend I was just a normal cat, live a little slice of happy life before I was forced to leave you and hide somewhere else.” Castiel’s voice broke, his eyes now filled with tears that he angrily wiped away.

“You said it yourself, I am a freak, and I’ll understand if you’ll ask me to leave. I fooled you and I deserve nothing. I am so sorry Dean.”

What the fuck was going on here? Not ten minutes ago he was comfortably sleeping in his bed, and now he was sitting beside a crying, shaking man, that apparently could transform into his cat. When had his life transformed into a young adult novel?

“Ca.. Cas” He shily placed a hand on the man’s shoulder “Let me take you a blanket, you’re shaking, man.”

He got up from the bed and, after rummaging in one of his closets he came back, wrapping him in a soft blanket, then sitting again in his previous position.

“Should I keep on calling you like that? I named you, I deprived you of your identity.”

He should have taken more seriously the idea of owning a sentient creature. He had fed him with food scraps sometimes. Now he felt almost ashamed by it.

Cas focused his sad eyes on Dean, his expression gradually turning incredulous.

“I haven’t had a name in a long time. The man I was before is dead, his name is better forgotten.

Do you remember the day you found me, in that alley? That was the work of an old.. friend” he air quoted _friend_.

“Apparently he wasn’t happy of a work I had done for him, and decided to settle the score. You stepped in in the right moment.”

“And what about your family?”

“My family!” he shouted with bitterness “Those fucking cowards thought I had been marked by the devil himself, they didn’t want a monster under their roof. The first time I talked to them about what had happened to me, they gathered all my things and throwed me in the street. That’s why I’m telling you the man I was before is dead.”

How could this be real? Yeah, Dean had only knew him in his cat form, but Cas was the sweetest, most adorable cat Dean had ever had the luck to know.

His family was everything to him, he couldn’t imagine treating like that someone ever, even when things went horribly bad. Hell, things had gone horribly bad in Dean’s life. Sam was the only precious thing he had left, and he would protect him with his life.

“I’m sorry” He didn’t know what to think

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Leave? No! No Cas, I would never ask you to leave..

Listen, it’s four in the morning, I’m exhausted and I’m not even sure if I’m dreaming all this. Now I’m going to sleep, you do whatever you apparently do while I’m asleep, and then we’ll talk tomorrow morning. Okay?”

He had started soothingly rubbing his hand along Cas’s arm without even noticing, and the man had leaned towards him looking for comfort. Cas nodded.

“Alright then..” He squeezed one last time his shoulder and then got up, heading to the top of the bed to lie down again.

Castiel stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do and still a little shaken, then, once Dean turned off the light, he transformed again and softly jumped on the bed.

He approached him carefully, still afraid of a rejecting reaction, but Dean was already almost asleep, lying on his side towards the centre of the bed.

He curled in the crook between Dean's stomach and legs and started purring; the only way of saying “thank you” he could think of.

“It’s all right baby” Dean whispered, scratching Cas’s belly “We’ll talk tomorrow”

When Dean woke up the following morning, he was alone in bed. Weird. Cas always waited for him before heading downstairs.

He jumped in a pair of sweatpants and descended the stairs, sniffing a sweet smell in the air.

“Cas?” he called. But he didn’t have to wait for an answer, for, when he entered the kitchen, a man with raven black hair stood at the counter, his back at him, busy pouring something in a frying pan. At least he was dressed now.

“Dean!” he turned, and, were those pancakes?

“Oh god it was all real” Dean mumbled, slumping on a chair

Cas pushed a cup of coffee towards him, offering a shy smile “I.. guess so..”

Dean watched him, taking in all his tall figure, from the pointed nose to his toned body. And to think that, as a cat, he could fit perfectly curled above his chest.

His head would start to spin if he kept on thinking at the absurdity of the situation.

“I’m sorry, Cas, but you’ll have to help me in this. Yesterday morning I didn’t even believe in ghosts and now I find out my cat is some sort of magical creature that can change his form; I’ll need some time to get used to this.”

Before he could grab the mug to take a sip, he found himself squeezed in a bone-crushing hug, the former cat whispering thank yous like a mantra in the crook of his neck, leaving Dean unable to do anything but to hug back.

“Ehy, ehy, there. It’s alright Cas. I don’t need all this devotion.” He started patting him in the back “I fed you with leftovers, it’s not like I saved a bus of children from certain death.”

Cas drawed back from the hug, watching Dean in the eyes. His were foggy with tears again.

“You saved **my** life, Dean. You saved it that first day, and you keep on doing that every day.

I was no one, I had lost all hope, I was just a stray cat waiting for death, and you showed me happiness again. I learned to appreciate the little things that happen to us, and I learned the real meaning of family.

For the first time in my life I know what it means to be loved.

You’re the only family I have, Dean.”

He choked on a sob, unable to say anything else.

“Oh, baby” Dean cradled the man’s face in his hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs “why has life treated you so badly?”

With a foot he moved a chair, and then helped Cas sit, since his legs were trembling.

He didn’t even stop to think about the fact that he had just called him “baby”. He had called him like that for a whole year, after all. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t knew he was human underneath that cute cat skin.

“You know what? I’m calling in sick. I can’t go to work knowing you’re here alone in this state. And there are things you still have to explain me, if that’s alright with you. What do you say?”

Castiel nodded, still leaning against Dean’s hands.

“I can’t believe you Dean. After all I’ve told you you’re not batting an eye. You’re not even pissed I lied to you all this time. On the contrary, you’re sitting here planning your day with your cat-monster. How can you be so calm?”

“I had quite a reaction last night Cas, if you don’t remember. But I had time to think.

You may have lived with me for a year, but I lived with you for a year as well. Nothing you had done have ever made me think you were bad.

Okay, you may have forgotten to mention you weren’t a cat, but you’re my family too Cas. I was so fucking alone before meeting you, if you still trust me even if now I know your secret, I’ll never ask you to leave. Having a doubled version of you is better than don’t have you at all.”

“There is one thing I’m really pissed at though.” Castiel’s eyes widened in panic

“According to your mad plan, you would have left me without giving me the occasion to see this beautiful face. That would have been a real shame honestly” He grinned, still running his thumbs across Cas’s face, earning a hesitant smile and a blush on his cheeks.

“Anyway, going back to what you still haven’t told me” Dean said, dropping his hands “would you care to explain me why you were naked in my bed last night?”

The blush on Cas’s cheeks deepened. He now was deep red.

“I.. I am quite ashamed now.

Sometimes I like to stretch my legs, these legs, so at night, when I’m sure you’re deep in your sleep, I shift back and.. take a walk in the kitchen or.. sleep. As I said, you kinda sleep like a bear. Last night I must have been too tired to notice you were waking up.

I never bothered to dress cause I always shift before you wake up, and I need to be naked to do it anyway. And I would have to steal something from your wardrobe to do it.

I took these things this morning by the way, I hope you don’t mind.” He pointed at his tshirt.

When Dean’s stomach growled, Cas jumped on his feet, grabbing a plate from the counter.

“Yes! Sorry! Since the secret’s out I thought I could at least help you with something.

I haven’t cooked in years, but I hope my pancakes are still okay”

They quietly ate together, as they had done so many times before, except that now Cas would laugh at Dean’s jokes, and Dean would ask about Castiel’s past, his transitionings and his life as a cat.

And just like that, they went on.

Weeks passed, and nothing changed from before.

Except that now everything seemed different.

Castiel would still spend a lot of time in his cat form, too fond of scratches on his belly and naps under the window, but would also prepare dinner for them both, and they would have real conversations, not only one-sided monologues on Dean’s side, while eating it.

One day, Dean suggested they went out shopping, together “You need to get out of this house, man, I’ll be with you, you won’t have to worry, and we need to find you something to wear. My wardrobe is kinda starting to feel the pressure of being shared by two people even if intended just for one.” he had said.

And once out, true to his words, he gripped Cas’ hand and never let it go.

Back at home, later in the evening, both exhausted by the tiring session of shopping, they collapsed on the sofa, and Cas, gathering all his courage, kissed Dean for the first time, hesitantly, not quite sure of what to do. Dean grinned like a madman, hugged him, and peppered his face of small kisses, Castiel blushing furiously below him.

That night was the first night Cas didn’t shift into a cat to sleep.

He hugged tightly Dean instead, whispering all his amazement to him, and Dean held him tight as well, nose buried in his soft hair, murmuring sweet nothing and placing light kisses on his head. 

“You know what I was thinking?” Dean asked a morning over coffee

“What will Sam think when I’ll tell him my boyfriend has the same name of my cat, and he’ll notice when one is in the room, the other is nowhere to be found?”

Cas tilted his head, an adorable habit he had shown from the very first day they had met

“Sam is not stupid; I think he’ll figure out those can’t all be odd coincidences. And we could tell him, one day.”

“You would really do that? Dean couldn’t hide his surprise.

“Of course I would. He’s my family after all. And I would do anything for my family”

“Yeah, you’re right” Dean said, placing his hands around Cas’s waist, love shining bright in both men’s eyes

“I would do anything for my family”

**Author's Note:**

> I am quite proud of the result of this fic. I only had a little idea, and I didn't expect the story to turn out this long  
> I'd love to know if you liked it (or if you didn't). Leave a comment if you feel like it   
> And remember.   
> Always love your cat.  
> Who knows, one day you could wake up and find out they're an undercover shapeshifter, and also the love of your life


End file.
